Review Your Bowling Performance

bowlingball.com, Originally Posted: 1/7/2013; Updated 6/2/2023

When you reach the end of your bowling season or perhaps at year’s end, it is a good idea to review your performance. The purpose of reviewing your performance is to find areas of your game you can work on improving. Reviewing your bowling performance now may help expedite your road to being a better bowler.

Comparing your average(s) to previous year’s averages is one way to evaluate overall performance. There are numerous things you can look at to determine which areas of your game you can improve upon before launching into a new season of bowling.

If your average is down, think about why you may have under-performed in comparison to previous averages. Were you steady enough on a week to week basis? If you encountered too many poor scoring sessions, ask yourself why and what you can do about it.

Sometimes you might find your first game in league is the one where you suffer from the lowest scores. Or you might bowl poorly the third or final game of league.

For example, if you are typically getting off to a slow start the first game, then analyze why this is happening. You may be missing the pocket too often on freshly oiled lanes and getting an overreaction where your bowling ball either skids too far or hooks too soon, or both, on an unpredictable basis. The answer might lie in a ball change or a surface texture adjustment or perhaps even an alignment and speed change. Whichever the case may be, map out a strategy to work on getting a more consistent ball reaction so you get a greater number of pocket hits and correspondingly easier spares to shoot and more recorded strikes.

Suppose your middle game is the weakest. Then you are likely caught by transitioning lane conditions. As oil carries down the lane and as the front ends of the lanes break down, you are caught between making an adjustment in your alignment position or with your sighting target. If, after making logical adjustments you find the results are still poor, then you may need a bowling ball change. You may have to use a ball with a noticeably different surface texture than the ball you started with. You may need a ball with a different drilling layout so you get a ball reaction in the mid-lane or on the back end matching best with the transitioning lane conditions.

If your final game lets you down too often, then you are certainly suffering from the changing lane conditions when none of your current attempts at adjusting are working. In this example, you have to ask yourself if you are making correct adjustments with your alignment, with your choice in bowling balls, with speed or delivery style changes, or with a layout pattern in your ball in the final game.


Of course, there is always the possibility no one game in particular is giving you problems in scoring but rather your overall performance. In this case, it is a good idea to dedicate some serious and focused practice time to spare shooting. Cutting down the number of open frames per league session is a sure method of improving your average at season’s end.

You may need a tune-up with a good bowling instructor to iron out problems with your steps, your body balance, your swing technique, or your delivery. Any of these things can cause inconsistent results and poor shot-making. Everyone can benefit from the services a coach provides for a general tune-up or for addressing problems with the game. If you are able to do so, invest in a lesson or two and work out the areas of your game which are in need of improvement.